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*News and Events DOE, GM Launch a Fuel Efficiency, Emissions Contest for the Chevy Equinox Maryland Local Governments Buy a Large Amount of Wind Power State and Utility Clean Energy Programs Chalk Up Successes Popular PG&E Energy Efficiency Rebates Running Low on Funds EPA Awards Energy-Efficient Businesses and Congregations DOE, GM Launch a Fuel Efficiency, Emissions Contest for the Chevy EquinoxDOE and General Motors Corporation (GM) announced a new competition last week that will challenge engineering students across North America to redesign a Chevrolet Equinox, increasing its fuel efficiency and reducing its emissions while maintaining the vehicle’s safety and performance. Called “Challenge X: Crossover to Sustainable Mobility,” the three-year competition will pit teams of engineering students from 17 North American universities against each other in the redesign of Chevy’s compact sport utility vehicle (SUV). DOE’s Argonne National Laboratory will manage the Challenge X competition, and GM will supply each team with an Equinox SUV, $10,000 in seed money, technical mentoring, and additional production parts for the vehicle. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Transportation will also contribute to the competition, as will a number of sponsoring corporations and organizations. See the DOE press release.Maryland Local Governments […]
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This year’s top 10 green building products from BuildingGreen cover a wide spectrum of products and applications, and highlight the ongoing innovation in the industry. Some are used primarily in commercial buildings, others in residential applications. Some are considered green because they are made from recycled-content or biobased materials, others because they save water or are highly durable. One of the winners actually helps restore damaged ecosystems. Included in the Top-10 products are a sensor-activated faucet in which a tiny hydropower turbine keeps the sensor batteries charged, an innovative “smart” vapor retarder whose permeability increases as relative humidity rises, and a line of laboratory casework made from straw-based particleboard. EnvironOxide pigment from Hoover Color Corporation in cooperation with Iron Oxide Recovery, Inc. This iron oxide pigment is recovered from abandoned coal mine drainage, actually regenerating damaged ecosystems in the manufacturing process. Available in a range of earth tone colors, EnvironOxide can be used in building materials including cement block, paint, wood stain and brick. BioBase 501 soy-based foam insulation from BioBased Systems, Inc.This is a low-density, open-cell polyurethane, spray-foam insulation derived in part from soybean oil. It has an insulation value of R-3.7/in. (RSI-0.7) or R-13 (RSI-2.3) at 3.5″ (90mm) […]
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Researchers at The Rodale Institute recently concluded a 23- year long study, the Farming Systems Trial, and reaffirmed that organic farming practices can help battle the effects of global warming. “Organic farming systems increase soil carbon 15-28%, accumulating about 1000 pounds of carbon per acre foot of soil each year (equal to 3500 pounds of CO2 per acre removed from the air and sequestered into soil organic matter),” say the researchers. And organic farming practices emit one third fewer greenhouse gases because the energy required to produce pesticides and fertilizers is eliminated.Other findings from the field trials, which compared three cropping systems on 12 acres (conventional, organic manure-based and organic legume-based): * after a four year transition period, organic corn and soybean yields were comparable to those of conventional systems. * production costs were 26% lower in organic systems.* in drought years, corn yields in the legume-based system were 22% higher than for the conventional system. * organic farming increases soil nitrogen levels 8-15% and reduces nitrogen loss than may occur through leaching. Organic crop systems perform better during climate extremes, both for drought and during excessive rainfall. “Organic crop management techniques will be a valuable resource in an era […]
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his Earth Day, look no further than your plate to see how you can help fight global warming.
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This Earth Day, let's take a look at humanity's Ecological Footprint. You can calculate yours too.
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This Earth Day, save gas by using these simple tips from the Alliance to Save Energy.
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On March 2, 2004, Mendocino County, California voters banned production of genetically modified (GMO) crops and animals there. Mendocino is the first county in the U.S to implement such a ban, inspiring people across the U.S. and the world to follow suit. Indeed, halfway across the world, a major agricultural states in Australia, including Western Australia, Tasmania and Victoria, passed, or will soon pass, GE crop bans. Monsanto and its GMO peers, of course, don’t like the idea. The Organic Consumers Association reports the biotech lobby will soon introduce a bill in California to nullify the Mendocino ban and make it illegal for other California counties to pass similar laws. Allan Noe, Vice-President of Crop Life International, a front group for Monsanto and corporate agribusiness, told the San Francisco Chronicle on March 30, “We’re looking at a number of things to remedy the situation… a court challenge to Mendocino’s ban, an attempt to pass state legislation to prevent counties passing such bans or persuade the federal government, which regulates biotech products, to halt local bans.”Monsanto is pressuring Canada to approve its GMO wheat and had said it would not press the U.S. for approval until Canadian regulatory officials were ready […]
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ShoreBank Pacific, a bank that can be truly called an environmental bank, has launched its first consumer credit card, the Salmon Nation Visa. One of only a handful of socially responsible credit cards in the country, the Visa will support the restoration of NorthWest watersheds and thus, the endangered salmon fisheries. Salmon Nation is an initiative of Ecotrust (Portland, OR), a non-profit that is raising awareness of issues and behavioral choices that contribute to the health of regional watersheds and the economies of the people that live in them. Activities already underway include campaigns to encourage people to purchase wild salmon and buy locally produced foods. ShoreBank will contribute 50 percent of the income it generates from the card to Ecotrust’s efforts. The bank offers a variety of consumer EcoDeposit products, money from which supports loans to businesses and non-profits committed to their communities and to reducing their environmental footprint. Consumer products include certificates of deposit (CDs), money market and savings accounts, and IRAs. Also available are Partnership CDs, which allow consumers to donate their interest to the participating non-profits. ShoreBank Pacific is an FDIC-insured bank leading the financial world in sustainable banking. Founded in 1997 as a joint venture […]
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Look to nature to implement affordable green site development practices.
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Bixby is working to make agricultural waste like corn a cost-effective, nationwide source of heating fuel.
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